Inadequate punishment for cockfighting and an absurd federal lawsuit that aims to legalize the repugnant enterprise of animal fighting could make Ohio a haven for cockfighting and, consequently, a national laughingstock.

Lawmakers can prevent that by approving a bill in the Ohio House that would elevate cockfighting and most other animal fighting to a fourth-degree felony, putting Ohio in line with Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and the majority of other states. …

Attempts to raise the cockfighting penalty have been shot down by lawmakers from cockfighting-friendly areas, especially in southern Ohio, but the state has lingered in that particular dark ages long enough. …

— The Columbus Dispatch